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And despite this history, cannabis extracts like CBD are classed as "novel foods" in the UK. 'A Novel Food is defined as food that had not been consumed to a s

by porker 7y ago

And despite this history, cannabis extracts like CBD are classed as "novel foods" in the UK. 'A Novel Food is defined as food that had not been consumed to a significant degree by humans in the EU before 15 May 1997, when the regulations were introduced.' Sources: https://www.healtheuropa.eu/recognition-of-cbd-as-novel-food-could-have-industry-ramifications/95264/ https://www.healtheuropa.eu/recognition-of-cbd-as-novel-food... https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/eu-novel-food-regulation-cbd/74422/ https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/eu-novel-food-regulatio...

markdown 7y ago
It's the same in the US. Kava isn't a GRAS food despite records of it being a traded commodity on the US mainland decades before the GRAS list was introduced, and despite it being consumed as a food in Hawaii since the day the first Hawaiians arrived there by canoe and brought it with them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generally_recognized_as_safe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generally_recognized_as_safe
- et2o 7y ago
  I think it likely should not be GRAS. It’s not a typical food additive or ingredient, it’s a psychoactive drug which rarely can cause side effects. I think FDA regulation is appropriate.
  - markdown 7y ago
    > It’s not a typical food additive or ingredient If you look at other stuff on the GRAS list (eg. tea, coffee), kava definitely qualifies. > it’s a psychoactive drug which rarely can cause side effects. It's a drug like tea and coffee are. As per the FDA definition of a food, kava definitely qualifies. Numerous foods on the GRAS list can cause side-effects, and there are certainly more dangerous foods on there (peanuts, eggs, and shellfish kill people all the time). Kava has a very long history of safe use, is a traditional beverage of the US state of Hawaii, and is considered a safe to drink beverage by the WHO. There is no reason why it shouldn't be GRAS.
leoh 7y ago
Seems to me that by this definition, Yerba Maté and Kombucha, etc. should be regulated too. Weird.
- tutuca 7y ago
  Mate doesn't have a tilde in the e ;P source: Am argentinian.
  - kyuudou 7y ago
    That's not a tilde, it's an accent mark. Source: native English speaker
akiselev 7y ago
The Englishmen in this article found cannabis not industrially produced CBD concentrates/extracts. Just because we discovered that apple seeds contain arsenic a few centuries ago doesn't mean that selling 10mg pills of arsenic is safe by default.
- jfengel 7y ago
  Cyanide, rather than arsenic. (Strictly, amygdalin, which turns into cyanide.)

by porker 7y ago

markdown 7y ago

It's the same in the US. Kava isn't a GRAS food despite records of it being a traded commodity on the US mainland decades before the GRAS list was introduced, and despite it being consumed as a food in Hawaii since the day the first Hawaiians arrived there by canoe and brought it with them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generally_recognized_as_safe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generally_recognized_as_safe

et2o 7y ago
I think it likely should not be GRAS. It’s not a typical food additive or ingredient, it’s a psychoactive drug which rarely can cause side effects. I think FDA regulation is appropriate.
- markdown 7y ago
  > It’s not a typical food additive or ingredient If you look at other stuff on the GRAS list (eg. tea, coffee), kava definitely qualifies. > it’s a psychoactive drug which rarely can cause side effects. It's a drug like tea and coffee are. As per the FDA definition of a food, kava definitely qualifies. Numerous foods on the GRAS list can cause side-effects, and there are certainly more dangerous foods on there (peanuts, eggs, and shellfish kill people all the time). Kava has a very long history of safe use, is a traditional beverage of the US state of Hawaii, and is considered a safe to drink beverage by the WHO. There is no reason why it shouldn't be GRAS.

leoh 7y ago

Seems to me that by this definition, Yerba Maté and Kombucha, etc. should be regulated too. Weird.

tutuca 7y ago
Mate doesn't have a tilde in the e ;P source: Am argentinian.
- kyuudou 7y ago
  That's not a tilde, it's an accent mark. Source: native English speaker

akiselev 7y ago

The Englishmen in this article found cannabis not industrially produced CBD concentrates/extracts. Just because we discovered that apple seeds contain arsenic a few centuries ago doesn't mean that selling 10mg pills of arsenic is safe by default.

jfengel 7y ago
Cyanide, rather than arsenic. (Strictly, amygdalin, which turns into cyanide.)